The demon and the soldier
by Shinigami-chan
Summary: Duo's an elf with a demon inside. Heero hates elves. what's gonna happen?


Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'Get away. Keep them safe.' Those two thoughts kept circling around in the head of Duo Maxwell as he ran through the woods. He knew what would happen if he didn't get away. He would loose control and IT would take over and IT never left survivors.

At fifteen, Duo was pencil thin with intense violet eyes that seemed so see right to the soul of a person and brown hair that reached his ankles when loose, but he usually kept it in a braid that reached his knees. The only problem with the braid, however, was that it didn't cover us his gently pointed ears. Being part dark elf and part human had its drawbacks, though. While it made him stunningly beautiful, it also made him a cast out from both people. He was too human for the dark elves and to elven for the humans.

From his elven father, he got his willowy figure and short height, only around 5'7, short for elves but tall for humans, his violet eyes and he was stronger than a regular human, and from his human mother, his heart shaped face, light skin and brown hair. His father's clan couldn't cut their hair as it caused intense pain and sickness if it happened, and unfortunately, it bred true to Duo.

But he wasn't running because of being half dark elf. No, the reason he was running was because of Shinigami. It would kill any one who dared to try and hurt him and there were twenty such people behind him from the nearest village he had just passed through. They had discovered the facts of what he was and were determined to destroy 'the abomination'. But they were unaware of the abomination buried deep within him. Shinigami, a death demon that possessed chosen people in his clan, had chosen him.

Shinigami had chosen his clan thousands of years before as punishment for disrespecting him by not killing every single person in a rival clan. He had possessed Shi'nar Kapres, Duo's great, great, great, great grandfather, and then current head of the Kapres clan. When Shi'nar had died, Shinigami had possessed Fra'ges Mestrop, another of the clan, but not from the leader's family. That was how it went. Shinigami would possess someone and as soon as that person died, he would go one to possess another, a newborn. All the chosen grew black wings on their first birthday; great big black leathery ones that towered above the person. Very few had the magic to make them disappear, but for those who could, it Shinigami took control; they were back, tearing from their back with agonizing force. There was a way for them to appear much gentler, but Shinigami didn't care about being gentle. It just wanted to cause death and destruction

"There he is! Get him before he brings disaster on us all!" one man yelled from behind him. Duo sped up as he ran through the trees, desperate to escape them before it happened again. Suddenly, he tripped and plowed face first into the mossy ground under a huge oak tree. Before he could get up, something hard smashed into his back, forcing him back down to the ground.

He rolled out of the way of a kicked aimed at his head and huddled against the base of the tree. Looking up, he saw about twenty villagers surrounding him, most with pitchforks, knives, or swords.

"Kill the freak! Kill the monster! Kill it!" Everyone seemed to be shouting his death, but Duo was more afraid of theirs. All ready, he could feel the demon struggling for control, trying to push the wings out through the skin of his bare back, trying to kill them. Shinigami was trying to 'protect' him. But Shinigami was the reason that he was in danger in the first place. 

Shinigami was death to all who saw it. It killed all living things around it's self with out mercy. From the smallest child to the oldest man, all died.

"You have to get out of here! He's coming!" Duo tried one last time before it was to late for them. But he could see from their faces that they thought he was just trying to trick them. As one of the men lashed out with a knife, Duo felt a tearing pain in his back and he faded completely, and Shinigami emerged in his place.

The villagers saw their death in its violet eyes and wished that they had never gone after death.

"Commander Yuy, the demon has struck again. I felt almost two dozen people suddenly die within the space of half a minute." Quatre Winner said quietly and Heero Yuy nodded in understanding.

"Can you tell where it came from?" Heero asked sharply and Quatre nodded.

"It cam from about two miles east of here and I felt the sadness again." The source of the sadness was a constant source of puzzlement for the blond mage. Every time the demon killed, there was always an underlying sense of sadness and helplessness that was both separate and a part of the killer. 

"Do we go after it now or in the morning?" Chang Wufei said as he cleaned his sword across the fire from the blond. Beside him was a tall soldier with brown hair that fell over one side of is face, concealing one of his bright green eyes. Trowa Barton was the best archer in the small group, but Heero was the best commander for this group. 

They together formed one of the small units that were apart of the Oz Army. Their current mission was to find and destroy the demon that was killing people all over the continent.

"We leave in one hour. Everyone, prepare your weapons and pack your things." Heero said and Trowa and Wufei nodded. Quatre however was new to the group and hadn't yet learned when to just follow an order.

"Why one hour?" he asked and all movement around the fire ceased. Quatre looked around nervously for a moment before Heero spoke up.

"That way, it is no longer actively hunting. Wufei, take charge of your student." 

Wufei, as the best fighter in the group besides Heero, had been placed in charge of teaching Quatre how to fight and how to work in the small group without throwing everything off. But Wufei was a tough taskmaster and constantly tore strips out of Quatre's hide for the smallest thing and in his book; this was far from a small thing.

After Wufei dragged Quatre off, Trowa and Hero listened quietly as the Sword Master swiftly unbraided the blond and then had him do a kata with a heavy wooden staff for thirty minutes. After that always came a spar with Wufei that ended up with Quatre getting the shit beat out of him.

Wufei was the only survivor of a once bright and glorious country far to the east, across the Fasen Sea. But that country was destroyed bad a band of demons two years before and he was the only known survivor. He was raised to be a scholar but when he was engaged to a young woman named Merian, he was taught to wield a sword and fight. Now, three years after beginning, he was the best sword master in the entire known world.

By the time the hour passed, Quatre had numerous bruises already darkening all over his body, but he stood quietly as Wufei checked his gear, making sure everything was balanced on the mage's horse. Finally, Wufei nodded in grudging approval and swung up on his own horse, a beautiful gray named Nataku. 

Painfully, Quatre mounted his gelding and went to his place behind Trowa and his horse. Trowa's horse was simply called Nanashi because he never bothered to name the thing. It was a heavy, stock roan gelding that, like it's rider, always had its forelock dangling over one eye. It was eerie sometimes how similar most of the people in the group were to their horses. 

Wing, Heero's horse was delicate looking but was one of the strongest and fastest horses in the group. Nataku was dainty and light on her feet, and always had her head up proudly, like her owner. Quatre's horse was just one of many from the stables that he could use. He hadn't been in the Royal army long enough yet to have one of his own, but he was hoping that some day, he would have his own palomino mare or stallion to take care of.

Quatre was from a rich family and was a gifted healer, both magically and by regular means, but all the horses that he had owned, were from his father's stables and never one that he could bond with, one to trust himself completely with. Nataku, Wing, and Nanashi, were not ordinary horses, though. They were companion soul horses. Companion Soul horses were similar to unicorns and other mystical horses. Very few people could have them because each horse was born just for one person. No one else could ride them and they could communicate with their riders. When the person reached a certain age, their CS horse would appear, or if they didn't, they would appear when their human counter part was ready for them. It wasn't common knowledge the Trowa, Hero, and Wufei had them, but that was ok with them. They were a group of loners basically, except for Quatre who was raised to take over his father's Title and lands.

Trowa was a forest sprite, more human than an elf, which was why his kind was excepted more than the various kinds of Elves that populated Fire Woods, a forest that stretched for over two hundred miles north to south and three hundred miles from west to east, where it ended at the edge of an ocean. Trowa was a stoic young man that was 5'8, the tallest in the group, and always wore brown leather pants with a green sleeveless shirt when not wearing his uniform. His past was shrouded in mystery, but it was known that he lived with a group of Plains sprites for a while before joining the Oz Army.

Heero, the commander of their group, was an unapproachable person most of the time. He was the perfect soldier and always completed his job, never failing. No one knew anything about his past, not even what he did just before arriving at Oz and joining the army.

As the quartet headed towards where the demon had last emerged, Quatre hoped that they could catch this demon and destroy it before it could kill any one else.

Duo woke up covered in blood and laying next o a small lake. The blood was starting to dry and the stench was almost unbearable as he sat up. It was everywhere, on his skin, in his hair, covering his wings, even in his boots. It was as if he had been in a blood bath, literally. Staggering over to the lake, he plunged into the cool water, clothes and all. Ducking under the water, he tore the strip of leather out of his braid and shook the mass out to let the water soak through it all.

Using his wings, he propelled himself to the center of the lake, where he burst to the surface and took a couple of deep breaths before scrubbing at his skin and face with his hands to get some of the remaining blood off. He had found out early on that is he went as fast as his wings could propel him in a lake, most of the blood would wash off, leaving it that much simpler to clean everything after Shinigami took control.

Shaking his head again, he headed back to the shore where he stripped off his boots and pants and headed back into the water after giving them a good wash and left them drying in the hot sun. Folding his wings, he dove towards the bottom of the lake in the center, where it was the deepest.

He had always felt at home it the water, another thing that separated him from the dark elves he was related to. They preferred the trees and forests to lakes and rivers. While the young elves would play in the trees and explore the forests, Duo could be found at the nearest water source, playing in the water or fishing, or just relaxing on the shores, staring out at the water.

At the bottom of the lake, he opened his eyes and looked around. Catching sight of some watercress and other edible plants, he swiftly gathered a small armful and used his wings to get him to shore quickly. Locating his pack, he grabbed his bowl and utensils; he washed the plants and made a quick salad, which he flavored with some berries from near by bushes. Before eating, he made a small, nearly smokeless fire and grabbed a pair of shorts from his pack.

As he sat down to eat his simple dinner, he looked over the lake towards the setting sun and sighed. 'I hate my life.' He thought as picked at his food. 'Maybe I should just end it all, just kill my self, but then he would go and possess someone else and make them suffer. No, I have to try and find a way to get him out of me. I can't let him destroy some one else like he's done to the others and me.'

Filled with determination, he finished his meal, made his wings disappear, and stretched out on the grass next to fire, using his pack as a pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Less than a mile away, Heero and the others were at the place where the villagers were killed. You couldn't even tell how many people there were originally. All that was left was a few disjointed body parts and blood everywhere.

Turning from the sight and smell, Quatre retched into some bushes that didn't have as much blood on them as the others studied the area for clues as to where the creature had gone.

"It flew off through the trees here." Trowa said as he gestured to a path of broken branches that led straight to the forest top. "It might still be in the area. Probably to the north a little ways."

"Quatre, can you sense the demon?" Heero demanded, turning to the pale blond mage who was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Stretching his senses, Quatre searched for the creature, but it was nowhere to be found, but he could sense small remnants of it in the magic pathways that gave mages their power. The magic pathways were streams of pure magic that criss-crossed the earth, dispersing energy to various people who had the capacity to become mages or sorcerers. But it also could help find other magic users and magic creatures and objects, because their magic signatures would be held there for a few hours before it would be dispersed.

"It was heading northeast about 45 minutes ago and then it disappeared again about a half a mile away." He said and Heero nodded.

"We will head after it. Along the way, you will contact the General Treize and give him a report." 

"Yes sir." Quatre said as he started to compose what he would say in his mind. With moments they were back in the saddle and on their way.

A short while later, they came to the calm lake and catching sight of the small fire down the shore a little, headed towards it. "I wonder who would be out here. This is a very far off place to just go to relax." Trowa said softly.

"Do you think maybe it's the demon and it's some how masking it's presence?" Quatre asked, then shrank back in his saddle at the glare Wufei threw at him.

"That is why, you half witted blond twit, we have our weapons ready." He snapped and Quatre belatedly pulled out his sword.

They dismounted about twenty feet from the fire, just outside of the ring of light it was casting and cautiously approached, spreading out to circle the fire and the lone person laying next to it. All they could make out about the figure was that looked like it was covered in a brown blanket or carpet and it was only wearing a pair of extremely short black shorts.

Quatre nudged him with the toe of his boot, gently at first, then a little harder when he didn't get anymore reaction then a slight shifting of the person's brown blanket. Suddenly, a hand lashed out and grabbed his boot, yanking it so that the blond ended up face down on the ground with his arms twisted behind him and something leaning on his back.

"Who the hell are you guys and what the fuck do you want?"

Duo had just barely fallen asleep when he became aware of the four horses approaching him. When the riders stopped and dismounted before surrounding him, he decided to see if he could get things more in his favor, so he kept still when one of them approached him and nudged him with their foot. He stayed still until the person had nudged him again before striking. He grabbed the foot and twisted it, dumping the surprised person on the ground, and most likely spraining the ankle too. As soon as the guy was flat he knocked the short sword from his hand and twisted both arms behind the guy's back, leaning on him to get more leverage. Holding both wrists in one hand, he grabbed a knife from inside his near by boots and held it to the guy's neck.

"Who the hell are you guys and what the fuck do you want?" he snarled as the other three surrounded him with their weapons pointed at him.

"I am Captain Heero Yuy of Oz and we came to ask you some questions." Heero snapped as he placed the tip of his sword just under Duo's chin with the point resting on the artery. "Who are you?"

"Duo Maxwell. Now can you get away from me?" Duo snapped, glaring at the trio.

"Release him."

"Fine but you guys need to learn how to wake some one up next time. I could have slit his throat." Duo said as he stood up and backed away from all of them. 

As soon as the blond was back on his feet, with his weight off his injured one, Duo said, "Well, you know my name and I know Heero's, but who are the rest of you?"

"Hi, I'm Quatre Winner. Sorry about kicking you awake like that." The blond said and Duo nodded. "Sorry about doing that to you. How's the ankle?"

"I'll heal it in a few minutes. Don't worry about it."

Turning to the one with black hair, Duo just looked at him until the guy grudgingly gave his name. "Chang Wufei."

"Trowa Barton."

"Nice to meet ya'll. Now what did you want to ask me?" Duo said as he cautiously went to his pack and found his brush and began the laborious chore of brushing his long hair.

Heero studied him for a moment before opening his mouth to ask his first question but before he could ask anything, Quatre asked, "Why is your hair so long? I thought is was a blanket at first."

Heero glared at the blond for a moment before saying, "Take charge of your student Wufei." 

Quatre looked startled for a moment before a hopeless look crossed his face and he sighed as he followed the irritated sword master away from the others.

"What's going on? Where are they going?" Duo asked a little concerned for the blond. 

"He needs to learn that he can not speak his mind all the time and learn to follow orders at all times." Heero said coldly as the three by the fire watched as Wufei went through the routine of yelling at Quatre, then having him do a kata for thirty minutes and a light spar that Wufei knocked Quatre around for a while before letting the exhausted mage slump to the ground.

While this was happening, Duo and the others watched and made small talk, which meant Duo talked about anything and everything while Heero and Trowa listened in silence or ignored him interlay. 

By the time Wufei and Quatre were done, Duo's hair was brushed and rebraided, though no had looked at him in a good while, so they had yet to notice his gently pointed ears.

As the other two came back to sit with Heero and Trowa, Duo shut up and nervously turned to his pack, making a grand production of looking for a black short sleeved shirt then putting it on.

"Duo, will you answer our questions now?" Heero snapped and Duo turned around, his ears plain for all to see.

Duo looked at them silently as they stared at him in surprise. "You're an elf?" Heero demanded as he jumped to his feet, his sword in his hand.

"I'm half dark elf, half human." Duo said quietly as he too stood up. In a moment, the others were also one their feet surrounding him with their weapons pointed at him.

"Dark elves are evil." Quatre said shakily.

"No they're not. They're called dark elves because they had black hair and dark skin. Light elves usually have white skin and light colored hair, usually blond." Duo said softly. After a moment of silence, he added in a bitter tone, "You might as well hurry up and ask your questions. I know you don't want to be anywhere near me."

Heero looked at him silently for a moment before saying, "We are looking for a demon that kills everyone one around it. Have you seen it?"

Duo tensed up and said, "No I've never seen this demon."

"Thank you." Heero said with a sharp nod before spinning on his heel and stalking away with the others following after a moment. Duo watched them leave, the only one looking back being Quatre, who sent him a half confused, half concerned look, before they disappeared into the darkness.

Duo watched them for a moment before he spun away and headed towards the water, stripping his shirt off as he went. He left his shorts on as he stepped into the water and started swimming towards the center.

Quatre turned towards the sound of splashing as he mounted his horse. He wasn't sure why, but the look of self-hatred and bitterness on the half elf's face had sent a pang of sadness through him. He had looked at them like he should have been expecting their rejection of him, but had foolishly hoped that they would not reject him on sight.

Quatre felt really bad about his reaction not that he had had time to think about it. He had liked Duo well enough when they had first met but as soon as he had heard that he was part dark elf, he had acted like Duo was going to attack him.

Now he watched as Duo swam to the center of the lake where he flipped over onto his back to float there, staring up at the sky. There was a full moon so it was easy to see Duo's actions, and he watched as the elf half-breed ducked under the water, disappearing beneath the surface of the water. Quatre held still as he waited for him to surface again, unconsincly holding his breath. He only remembered to release it when his vision started to go dark from lack of oxygen.

As he took a deep breath, Duo popped back to the surface and started back towards shore. Sighing in relief, Quatre turned towards were the others had been mounting their horses and found all three staring at him.

"What?" he asked warily.

Heero didn't have to even say anything, just raise his eyebrow at him before Quatre started babbling.

"I was just looking at Duo. He's not that bad, but he's really bitter at people for avoiding him or hating him because of what he is, I felt it! And he headed right into the water as soon as we left the fire and I thought he was going to kill him self when he stayed under for so long! And…….." he trailed off as Heero glared at him while Trowa and Wufei turned to look at Duo who was just getting out of the water.

They were silent as they watched Duo pack up his things, and suddenly, the long haired elf was gone, disappearing into the forest. But he had left the fire going and Wufei went back to put it out, mumbling about lazy elves endangering everyone. He was about to kick dirt over it the fire when he caught sight of writing in the sand.

'Go ahead and use this as a campsite. I don't need it anymore.'


End file.
